I Love Food Recipes

Aside from including one of the best descriptions of eating an orange I’ve read, A Time in Rome by the Irish writer Elizabeth Bowen is an evocative account of a city, its architecture, its atmosphere, its daily rhythms. Bowen finds the perfect words for “the utter blank” in the middle of the Roman day, “announced by the clanging down of black iron shutters, which before owners go off to lunch they stoop to lock”. Almost 60 years have passed since she wrote those lines, yet they still ring true, especially during the white-hot days of summer in Piazza Testaccio, when the ceremonious yanking down of shop shutters really does feel like the city is shutting its eyes for a nap. Depending on the shop and the heat, shutters and serrande are pulled back up between 4pm and 5.30pm and, gradually, people start returning to the piazza. Kids who have been cooped up in darkened rooms since lunchtime are like springs uncoiling, scooting, kicking balls or each other, while everyone else clusters aroun...

Fried rice has been my go-to fast food at home since my childhood. My mum makes fried rice when she has limited time and she makes this recipe a lot. It is quick, nutritious and utterly satisfying. You can eat it hot off the wok, but I think it tastes better at room temperature; making it a perfect dish to cook in advance. Once you have mastered the art of frying rice, you can put pretty much any ingredients in it. This recipe uses prawns and add the dried shrimps, if you can find them, for extra umami. Serves: 2 Prep time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 15 minutes 200g Jasmine rice, cooked 1 tbsp dried shrimps (optional) 2 tsp oil 1 egg, lightly beaten ½ onion, sliced 2 garlic cloves, chopped 100g raw prawns, shelled 6 chestnut mushrooms, diced ½ tbsp oyster sauce 1 tsp fish sauce ½ tsp dark soy sauce Pinch of white pepper Crispy shallots, to serve 1 spring onion, sliced 1 red chilli, sliced Chilli oil (optional) Rehydrate the dried shrimps in boiling water for 5 ...

Salsa macha is a deliriously delicious chilli oil from Veracruz, a port on the eastern side of Mexico. It is made with toasted garlic, peanuts and sesame (an ingredient brought over from Africa, via the Caribbean), and it has a natural affinity with seafood – a must with raw seafood tostadas. Here I pair it with a British crab and new potato salad, which makes a lovely starter. Crab, new potato and watercress salad with pickled onions and salsa macha The chilli oil adds an intensely nutty, lightly fiery and terrifically garlicky spark of flavour to the salad. Leave out the sesame and peanuts for a simpler version. Chile de arbol can be found online and in good supermarkets, but substitute with any hot, dried red chilli. Prep 5 min Cook 40 min Serves 4 500g new potatoes (jersey royals, anya or pink fir apple are great varieties) Salt 100ml cider vinegar 3 tbsp caster sugar 2 large banana shallots, halved and finely sliced 6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil The juice of 2 limes 200g dres...

This cauliflower dish is one I often cook at home: it is simple, light, fresh and full of flavour – the Spanish version of a Chinese stir-fry. My cooking is inspired by growing up in Spain; I learned how to make this dish at my aunt’s house in Madrid. I’m looking at putting it on the spring menu in my restaurants; with better weather hopefully arriving soon (fingers crossed!) our customers will be looking for lighter dishes. I like it on its own, but you can serve it with a pan-fried fillet of cod or salmon for a more complete meal. (Serves 4 as a tapa) 1 large cauliflower, broken into florets, leaves reserved Pinch of salt 200ml milk Extra-virgin olive oil, for frying 5 garlic cloves, sliced 50g/5 tbsp drained capers 1 tsp cumin seeds ½ tsp sweet smoked paprika 50ml/3½ tbsp sherry or other white vinegar Place the cauliflower florets in a large pan, cover them with water, then add the salt and the milk (this will make the cauliflower whiter and prevent odours). Cook over a high hea...

Marshmallows take a little focus and some proper baking equipment, but, oh, what a joy to make and eat real homemade. Makes about 30 marshmallows icing sugar 25g cornflour 25g egg white 1 raspberries 175g caster sugar 200g cold water 180g powdered gelatin 2 sachets (30g) vanilla extract 1 tsp dehydrated raspberries 35g, crushed (or dehydrated raspberry powder)   Grease a 20cm x 30cm baking tray with a little oil. Line with parchment paper and grease again. Whisk together the icing sugar and cornflour and sift over the tray. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, place the egg white and set aside. In a saucepan, heat the raspberries with 25g caster sugar, until they start to bubble and break apart (about 10 minutes). Then push through a strainer to remove all of the seeds. Set aside the puree and discard the seeds. Put 60g (4 tbsp) water into the bottom of a small, immaculately clean saucepan and add the remaining 175g caster sugar on top of that. Place ...

The recipe Mix 2 tbsp of olive oil with 2 tbsp of za’atar spice mix. Brush over 6 lamb cutlets and set aside. Put 4 tbsp of bulgur wheat into a small dish, trickle over just enough water to dampen it and leave for 10 minutes. Remove the seeds from a pomegranate and put them in a mixing bowl. Top and tail 10 radishes and slice them into thin rounds, then add to the pomegranates. Put 2 tbsp of good, fruity olive oil in a small bowl, add 2 tsp of ground sumac, 1 tbsp of pomegranate molasses and the juice of a lemon. Pick the leaves from 6 sprigs of mint and 10 sprigs of parsley, then add them to the pomegranates. Run a fork through the grains and toss them with the salad and dressing. Grill the lamb cutlets for a few minutes on each side, then serve them with the salad. The trick Let the cutlets sit for a good 20 minutes in the za’atar spice mix before grilling. Use an overhead grill, and take care not to let the spice burn. The twist Add chopped cucumber or apple to th...

There’s nothing better for a lazy chef than to put food in the oven and step back while it does all the work. This dish is a perfect example, and full of flavours inspired by Spanish and southern French cuisine. It is also full of colour – especially if you use different colours of beetroot and potatoes. You will need to soak the cashews overnight to make the aioli. Serves 4 1.5kg coarse sea salt 750g fresh beetroot, preferably red, yellow and Chioggia varieties 750g potatoes, preferably pink and purple Advertisement For the aioli 1 pinch of saffron threads (about 20) 200g raw cashews, soaked overnight and rinsed 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or the juice of ½ lemon 2 or 3 garlic cloves, chopped 1 Set the oven to 200C/400F/gas 6. Spread half of the salt over the base of a baking tin. Pierce each potato and beetroot a couple of times with a fork. Arrange them on the tray and cover with the remaining salt. Bake in the oven for about 1 hour, or until tender. 2 While the vegetables are co...